


Things the Valley Never Forgets

by ippoteq



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Smoking, motorcycle accident
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:41:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28652160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ippoteq/pseuds/ippoteq
Summary: Sebastian finally has what he always wanted: A life in the city, a space all to himself, with no-one around to question his decisions. He finally has his freedom. But city life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And now, Stardew Valley calls to him
Relationships: Abigail & Sam & Sebastian (Stardew Valley), Abigail/Sam/Sebastian (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yes, I wrote and edited all of this in 2 days. It's the fastest I have written something of this length since I was thirteen and writing fanfiction on dA. 
> 
> Assume any OOC is intentional! This strays from canon in a number of ways, particularly Seb and Maru's relationships, but also in that the farmer doesn't arrive until Sebastian has already left for the city. Not that he's in this chapter... we'll meet him later ;)
> 
> If you enjoyed, don't forget to leave a kudos! I'll try and update semi-regularly.

Sebastian had forgotten how much he hated buses. He tried to ignore the pins and needles buzzing in his legs, knowing full well he couldn’t adjust his position with the amount of legroom bus seats provided. He’d also had to make room for his suitcase, wedged into the gap in such a way that his knees dug uncomfortably into the back of it. His upper-half wasn’t fairing much better: he pressed himself up against the outer side of the bus to avoid getting too close to the lady beside him. She was wearing a particularly fluffy padding-lined coat, a huge purse of the same material in her lap. From the way she smelt, Sebastian wondered if she’d recently used that same bag to carry fish. His only saving grace was that she was courteously teetering on the outer edge of her seat, to avoid constantly bumping into Seb’s plaster-casted arm. That, and that despite sharing this experience together for over an hour, he had managed to avoid any awkward conversation with her. 

As with most things he hated, but was forced to do, he did his best to ignore it. Instead, he focused his attention out of the window at the rolling hills of the approaching valley. His breath made little puffs of condensation appear in front of his eyes, but he could see it all the same: he’d driven these roads himself so many times that all he needed was the silhouette to tell him how close they were getting. If only he’d been able to ride here today, the trip might have been enjoyable. Unfortunately a few things had gotten in the way of that. It all started with the call. Actually, that wasn’t true, but it had coincided so well with the event before that he got the two mixed up easily. 

It hadn’t started with the call, but the call had been the final straw. 

Sebastian’s phone vibrated incessantly on his pillow, waking him up in a haze. ‘ _Great_ ’, he thought to himself, ‘ _Just as I finally manage to fall asleep…_ ’ He reached up to grab it, stopping it before it buzzed so hard it fell out of the bed. Turning the phone over made the screen light up and his stomach knot up with anxiety. He had to scroll to view all of the notifications he’d missed. Several in the last hour, but many more before that. 

‘ _Shit… I guess I’ve been asleep longer than I thought_.’ 

He got up, not being able to think clearly in bed, and made his way to the kitchen of his apartment. The floor was cold and it shocked a little of his exhaustion out of his system. Not enough to stop him brewing a coffee, of course. The mundanity of the task was just enough to force him to think while not being so difficult that he would mess it up. Coffee granules in the mug, hot - not boiling - water over the top. On a regular day, he might have splashed in a little milk or even a touch of sugar, if he felt like it. Sometimes, in the colder months, he’d take it out onto his little balcony and enjoy how it felt to freeze on the outside while staying warm on the inside. Now, he drank it black without giving it time to cool down, while typing Demetrius’ number into his phone with his other hand. 

It took a few rings before his stepdad picked up - ‘ _Typical, he rings me eight times in an hour and then can’t make it to the phone_ ’ - and when he finally did, Sebastian found himself unable to say anything. For whatever reason it seemed Demetrius was having the same problem - all that travelled down the line was heavy, burgeoning silence. 

Sebastian couldn’t contain it any longer, “What happened?”

Another period of silence, the sound of something being set down on a table, a voice in the background that sounded feminine, but that Sebastian didn’t know well. Then he heard it, almost inaudible: Crying. It was quiet but he knew without a moment’s hesitation that it was Maru; she had this distinct hiccup to her crying that made it impossible to miss that it was her. Whatever was happening must have been bad… she sounded like she was drowning in her own tears, heaving gulping sighs echoing through the room and down into the microphone. Sebastian clung to the phone so hard his fingertips turned white. 

He clung on and on and on, listening to the sound of Maru’s sobs echoing down the receiver. Finally, _finally_ , Demetrius’ voice rumbled out of the speaker. 

“It’s your mum, Seb. She needs you to come home.”

Sebastian and Demetrius had never seen eye-to-eye, and probably never would, but in that moment they shared a pain that was unimaginable. Sebastian hung up the call without another word between them. He didn’t need to know anymore detail, how bad it was, what exactly had happened to her. He'd told him the only thing he needed to know, the only thing that mattered: she needed him. The bus trip was long and painful but for Robin, Sebastian would endure it a thousand times over. His mother was all he had. If she was in trouble, no matter how big or small, he’d find a way to get back to her. 

Besides, this was only one thing of many that had caused him to come home. Sure, it was the most important and probably the only one worth mentioning - a broken bone in a sea of small cuts and bruises - but it was still only one piece of a much larger puzzle. 

‘ _Ironic, that._ ’ he thought as a bump in the road sent a jolt up his aching arm. He realised he’d been absently picking at the frayed edges of his cast, scattering small white plaster fragments onto his black jeans. Yet another abstract reminder of another painful day…

‘ _Not now._ ’ 

He had to stop feeling sorry for himself. This wasn’t about him, after all.

The rest of the journey passed painlessly, except for the biting anxiety growing in the pit of his stomach. The lady beside him got off at her stop, even turning to smile at Sebastian as she did so. He smiled back, thankful that the fish smell would finally be gone. Unfortunately it hung around. Maybe it’d been judgemental of him to pin it on her; either that, or the length of their trip had given the smell time to permeate into the seat. Still, the gradual yellow-green undulations of the hills outside indicated the valley was fast approaching. Sebastian gathered his belongings and then began to gather himself, knowing that Demetrius would send Maru to meet him and give him a hand with his suitcase. Despite everything going on right now, he refused to cry in front of Maru. His mind wandered back to that night, when her painful sobs had echoed around his empty kitchen...

He spent so long bracing himself that the knock on the window startled him, as did the realisation that they were stationary. His gaze drifted to just outside the glass: a pair of deep brown eyes looked back at him from behind dainty pink glasses and a mass of tightly coiled curls. She smiled at him, waving. He couldn't help but notice how bloodshot her eyes were. 

Maru helped him get his suitcase down from the bus and the pair walked along without exchanging many words between them. Awkwardness had never bothered Sebastian when it came to Maru - he had no problem with her, and that was as far as their relationship went. Since he’d moved away, Maru had seemed a lot more active in her attempts to strike up conversation, to “bond”, sending him texts and pictures of what he was missing back home. They both knew it was too little too late. But it just felt wrong to walk along in silence while their mother was suffering god knows how. When Sebastian had hung up the phone that night, no-one had said another word. No more texts, no more calls. He knew quite literally nothing about the situation, but the fact Maru had come to get him at all and that Demetrius hadn’t just shown up on his doorstep and hauled him home told him how dire it must be. Demetrius never trusted him to do anything. 

They wove through town, passing the houses of all the people Sebastian knew well. Evelyn was tending to her lawn, tutting at flowerbeds piled high with snow. Seeing the pair of them come past, a peculiar expression came across her face that she failed to hide. Could be pity, though it was difficult to tell through the wrinkles. Maru was courteous enough to wave, and Evelyn waved back with her trowel. Sebastian nodded in her direction. Her face could have read many things, but all of them said, “Honey, you’ve got a big storm coming.” 

Their house loomed much larger than it ever had when Sebastian had called it home. Maybe it was living in such a small apartment for the past year that made it feel that way. More likely, it was the threat of what was inside. Just as he was about to make for the door, Maru grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie. His annoyance was mellowed somewhat at the fact that she’d at least got his good arm. 

“Before we go in…” Maru began, pausing as a wash of hiccups came over her. 

‘ _Oh no… is she going to cry?_ ’ 

“...can I talk to you?”

Subconsciously, Sebastian held his breath. He forced a noise of acknowledgement out of his glued-shut lips. 

Maru took a deep and very shaky breath. Oh god, she really was going to cry. 

“I know you hate me,” Wow, way to open with the low-blow, “I know that… you have weird feelings about my dad. Not like, _weird_ weird. You’re conflicted, is what I mean, and I understand. Bu-” Another hiccup, “-ut, can you make me a promise?”

Sebastian tried his best to ignore his body shaking. He nodded. 

“My dad? He loves Robin. He loves my mum - our mum - very much and he- well he’s trying but…”

‘ _Please, god, get this over with._ ’ 

“...he needs me. And as much as you’ll hate it, he needs you. I need you. So… just promise me that you’ll try. Not for us but… for her. Okay?”

The silence was deafening. He half-expected her to start crying, but her expression remained the same and no tears started spilling. She’d probably done enough crying for a lifetime before he’d even gotten on the bus. 

Painfully, awkwardly, Sebastian nodded in agreement. If nothing else, he knew how much this must be hurting her right now. As much as he wished it wasn't the case, his mum was a massive part of Maru’s life. Besides, Maru’s world ended here, in Stardew. He had an entirely different world to escape to when he was ready. As though she couldn’t stand the silence any longer, Maru led the charge and made her way to the door without him.

“I’ll be in right after… I need to have a smoke before-” 

She was already gone. If she’d heard, she didn’t acknowledge him. The door hung softly ajar and warm light filtered out of it. 

Sebastian lit up his cigarette and took what felt like the longest drag he’d ever taken. He blew out a huge puff of smoke, a mix of tobacco and the condensation of his own breath that clouded in front of him and turned the valley grey. Still he could make out the details of his home town from only its silhouette, though it became a little harder as his eyes welled with tears. He made no attempt to hold back; after all, he’d only promised not to cry in front of Maru. Now, looking out over the valley, it seemed like he could cry forever. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Days blurred together. At the beginning Sebastian had kept track by marking them off in the notes app of his phone. He stopped counting around the time he ran out of cigarettes.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot faster of a turn around than I expect - probably because I'd written part of this chapter when the first one went up. 
> 
> Gonna try and post at least monthly but if not, I'll let you know! Hope you're enjoying this character journey so far!

Days blurred together. At the beginning Sebastian had kept track by marking them off in the notes app of his phone. He stopped counting around the time he ran out of cigarettes. 

Robin’s situation was about as bad as he had imagined. That night, when Sebastian had finally worked up the courage to step into his parents’ room, he hadn’t quite been prepared for what he saw. His mum was tucked neatly into bed, blankets layered over other blankets, cocooning her. She was pale at the best of times but now her skin was like porcelain. Harvey was here, which shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise as it was. He leant over her, putting a thermometer in her ear to read her temperature, then studying her face for reactions as he gently raised and lowered her arms one at a time. It made her look like a jointed doll that he was pulling into different positions.

‘ _It’s like she’s already dead._ ’ For a horrible moment, it was all Seb could do not to throw up. 

He almost jumped a foot when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Maru withdrew her arm at his reaction but stayed by his side. Together they watched over Robin as Harvey continued his examination, neither moving to sit down. Maru played with one of her corkscrew curls, which Sebastian still hadn’t adjusted to. Her natural hair suited her but it was a rare sight and probably meant she hadn’t been tinkering with her machines recently; she’d started perming after a robot had once gone haywire and almost shaved her bald. Now she had a full head of beautiful curls. It was soothing to watch her finger spin through her hair, over and over and-

“She’ll need some more medication to keep her blood pressure steady,” Harvey’s voice cut through to Sebastian in his daze. He looked up - no, down - at the town physician, who was scribbling illegible notes on a torn-out page of his notepad, “And make sure that she’s getting enough food and water. She’ll start eating more over the next few days, but I’d stick to simple things. Soup, if possible.” Harvey took the sheet of paper and placed it on the bedside table, wedging it under the alarm clock. As he headed to the door he gave Maru a sympathetic look, but said nothing. Faintly in the distance they heard the front door open and close. He was gone, and Sebastian and Maru stood watching over their mother’s seemingly vacant body for much longer than necessary. 

Eventually, Maru piped up, “She’s had her eyes open a few times when I’ve been in here. Not been able to say much, though. We thought it was a fever until she collapsed one night,” A brief pause, more hiccups - “She had a seizure, then a few more after that. Harvey… thinks maybe there was a blood clot of some kind involved. Still fighting though. That’s our mum, huh?” 

She turned in time to see Sebastian’s body whip through the open door and into the hallway. Sebastian hadn’t intended on sticking around but felt even more inclined to leave after he heard the word “seizure”. He spent too long afterwards doubled-over in the bathroom, heaving. When he finally felt like his stomach was empty, he made his way to bed, though there was a painful weight in his abdomen that made sure he got no sleep that night.

After that, his cigarettes started disappearing twice as fast. He’d get comfortable on the front step of the house and burn through ten in one sitting. This happened as many times a day as he could manage to get out so it was no surprise when he demolished both of the packs he brought with him. He’d have gone to buy more, but part of him didn’t feel right making the trip without telling someone where he was going. Demetrius would be enraged, and he couldn’t trust Maru not to tell him what he was going to do. So instead he took to sitting on the step when it was cold in just a t-shirt and jeans, letting the ice-cold winds numb his bare skin. Some nights he’d even go out in the snow and lean against the outer cladding of the house, watching it all come down around him...

*

The snow in the city felt a lot less palatable than in the valley. It was perhaps the only thing that Sebastian felt Pelican Town had going for it. Yes, it caused a lot more hassle than it was worth: it left them isolated, blocked deliveries, and made work even more difficult for his mum than usual. Equally, though, it was beautiful. It fell in thick sheets over the fields and across the rooves, coating everything in a stark-white, icy-cold blanket. It brought the village together in a way that Sebastian hated, but equally admired. In the city, it was little more than a sludgy brown inconvenience. No snow that fell stayed undisturbed for long. One time, Sebastian had woken up to a picture from Maru of the family’s perfect little lopsided snowman - “Doesn’t it look just like that farmer?” was the caption she had given it - and by the time he had walked to the window to see how the weather was fairing, trucks had already carved out a trench for commuters, the rest of the snow piled into neat little barriers either side of the road; every cog continues to turn in the well-oiled machine. 

The weather over the last month had continued in much the same fashion: a heavy snowfall shoved aside by snowploughs, which would take a few days to melt away, before another lot came down to take its place. He watched it all tick over from the comfort of his apartment, even dragging his entire desk over to the full-length windows at one point to improve his chances of a glimpse of the winter magic before it was shovelled aside. Then one day - or rather, late night - it happened. The snow came raining down as it did every few winter days but tonight it was light and delicate, not like the hailstorms he was used to living here. At first, he continued typing away at the programme he was working on, only keeping a vague eye out of the window. Before long the weather had his entire focus and he sat facing out towards the balcony, cradling a cup of lukewarm coffee in his hands. It was blissfully quiet. That’s when an idea popped into his head. 

It took him a few minutes to change into his biking gear. He picked up his helmet, which had sat unused on the sideboard for longer than he would have liked, and headed downstairs to the parking lot. Orange fluorescent light shone in ribbons through the darkened lot and bounced off of the packed rows of cars. Tucked away at the back was Sebastian’s midnight blue motorbike. Public transport was more convenient than riding his bike - the parking around here was chaotic at the best of times - but it hadn’t stopped him bringing it along. It reminded him of what he’d done to get here... both literally _and_ metaphorically. Besides, polishing it had become something of a hobby for him and he didn't want to give that up. Recently, his work had demanded a lot of him and the amount of time he devoted to each project seemed to grow continuously. There wasn’t time for a casual ride, up and down the busy streets, but right now the roads were dead; it could be just him and the bike and the flurry of snow as he rode. 

He remembered nothing after that. When he came to, he was on the floor, his entire right side overwhelmed by the sensation of cold, compacted snow beneath him. Hard as he strained his eyes, he couldn’t see even a foot in front of him. Where the hell was he? He tried to roll over onto his back, in vain, and cried out in pain without budging an inch. God, his _arm_. How could something be numb and agonisingly painful at the same time? He screwed his eyes shut tight then opened them again, but still he was met with nothing but darkness. No, wait… there was something else there, very faint. He saw ahead of him an empty stretch of darkness but noted that there was a shift in colour about a metre away; a small patch of something slightly glistening. It wasn’t much but it was enough for him to go on. There was snow underneath him, the road in front of him, and that small, faint blue-black gleam in the dark was his bike. Or at least, a piece of it. It was impossible to tell from here but Sebastian wondered if the small patch was his bike buried under snow or simply a scrap of metal that had flown off at whatever point he’d crashed it. 

A thought rushed to him, ‘ _Shit… I_ crashed,’ immediately followed by, ‘ _Of course you crashed, dumbass. You didn’t just hop off the bike for a nap on the roadside,_ ’ and then, finally, ‘ _I need help. Now._ ’ 

His first attempt to call out stopped in his throat. He coughed and hacked, trying to clear it. Then, again:

“Help.” Barely a whisper. ‘ _Pathetic. You sound like Sam after a concert._ ’

“Help!” Okay, they were getting somewhere, but still not good enough. 

“ _Help! Help me!_ ” 

The only thing he heard was his own voice echoing back to him. 

What was he going to do? Would he simply lie here until someone stumbled upon him? Where was here, anyway. He could be on the road, or the pavement, or his body could have made it as far as the grassy verges, if he had gotten to the motorway. Miles from civilisation in the dead of night. At least the snow had stopped, for now.

As if on cue, Sebastian saw something flutter down from the sky. Then another something - a speck. Snow. Then it was coming down all around him, as much as he could strain his head to look. It was only light now, but Sebastian couldn’t shake the memories of how the snow had rained down here, thick and fast. 

He could only hold out hope that someone would drive past… but what if no-one came? What if the road was deserted until people began their commute? Someone would find his body amongst the snowy drifts, frozen solid the next day, unless of course he was buried before that. Maybe he’d only be found when the snowploughs came, and he made a red smear on the-

*

“Seb!?” Abigail’s voice, petulant as ever, found its way into his ears. He opened his eyes and sure enough, there she was, arms crossed over her chest, looking an aggressive five foot something, “You didn’t even tell us you were home. I’ve been trying to get hold of you for over _two_ _weeks_. What if you’d died?”

“Cheerful as always, Abi,” Seb smiled down at her, “Sorry if I worried you.” 

“ _I_ _f._ ” Abigail blew a lock of her hair out of her eyes and sighed, “I’ll stop shouting now… sorry. I sounded just like my mum for a second there. I was just seriously scared, you know?” She eyed him up and down, staring in a not-so-subtle way at his plaster-casted arm, “What _happened_ to you?” 

Sebastian leant his head back against the wall, chuckling to himself, “Oh it’s a long story. Kinda boring, honestly.” He waited for a moment for the sound of her walking away, but instead felt something warm touch his bare, frozen skin. He looked down at Abi, who had looped her arm through his, the sleeves of her dark blue hoodie pulled over her hands like mittens.

“Well, Seb, for you I have all the time in the world.”


End file.
